1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC? At school. My students and I were getting ready for lunch. When we got to the cafeteria, one of my colleagues came up to me and whispered into my ear, "Have you heard? We are under attack!" I was speechless.

2. What were your first thoughts? My very first thoughts were of my son, who was then in the Army. What could this mean for him and the military? Almost immediately, I thought of the people in the WTC, their families, and of those on the planes and their families. Then I thought this was a direct result of the 2000 election. All of these thoughts went through my mind like a whirlwind. But being responsible for 21 hungry third graders is a marvelous distractor. My first task was to see to them, and that's what I did.

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with? My students and my colleagues were with me. After I learned about the attack from one of the other teachers, I shared what I knew with another colleague who had just come into the cafeteria. She couldn't believe it. When we returned to the classroom, I gathered the kids into the reading center and told them what had happened. They just wanted to be assured that they were safe and that the school would not be attacked!

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks? Knowing that we as a nation always pulled together at times of crisis, I knew that this attack would not go unanswered. However, I never dreamed that we'd invade a country that had nothing to do with these attacks.

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11? I take nothing for granted anymore. I'm a more spontaneous hugger, and I have become much more politically active.

6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

The most obvious effect has been the desire to know the truth about what actually happened, how much the president and certain members of his Cabinet knew beforehand, and just exactly what caused those towers to come down. I have watched Confronting the Evidence, which changed my mind entirely about these attacks.

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

I was at my computer. The TV is to the right across the room. I heard the news and saw the clips over and over and over again. I thought at the time, this is being promoted to scare people into believing the entire nation is under attack.

2. What were your first thoughts?

As I said, I thought it was being promoted for a scare tactic. My mind went to the Bush administration--those crooks who stole the election and weren't high in public polls.

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?

A computer buddy who believed the same things I did. We both felt this was something to promote Bush and his agenda, whatever that was. We didn't know at the time.

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?

Nothing brought comfort...

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

It has only deepened my feelings against neocons!

6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

Just to keep working to wake Americans up to the fact that the Bush administration is NOT acting in the best interest of everyday people. Endless and fruitless cause I am afraid.

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001, when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

First of all, this is a fantastic idea for a thread. Fantastic.

September 11, 2001, was a Tuesday, and I was sleeping in that morning, after having worked yet another brutal preceeding night of hand-to-hand combat with the selfish public.

I was living at my mom's at the time, and she woke me up later in the morning, with the statement, "There's trouble in the world." When she proceeded to relate that the towers had collapsed, I felt that slight glaze of shock strobe once completely around the outer sphere of my brain. It wasn't that I disbelieved her, it was just like, "Jesus in the hell Christ why can't I get some sleep before the sorry fucking human race goes running wild with the most beyond-imagination bullshit possible?"

Catherine wrote:

2. What were your first thoughts?

My very first thought was I wondered would this lead to WWIII and would civilization be vaporized in an orange-red nuclear fireball the size of a planet later that afternoon? In the next split second I asked out loud, "Do they know who did it?" Then I flipped on the tube . . .

And I swear to God this is true. I turned on the television, and the very first words as the picture faded in was the announcer's voice saying, "This is not a movie." Then no sound at all as the video from the backside of the south tower played in slow motion: the plane was visible, then it disappeared behind the south tower for a moment, then a fireball expanding out of the opposite corner of the building. Then the announcer started speaking again.

I hadn't dropped a blank tape into the VCR yet, so that moment is lost -- but I must say that the first thing I thought of when I watched that silent video was the hypothetical collapse of Los Angeles in an earthquake, in John Carpenter's Escape From L.A., and the subsequent rise of a police state in the United States, driven by a President who declared himself dictator.

(While Escape From L.A. is terrible, the original John Carpenter movie it was inspired by, Escape From New York, is still a classic, and oddly enough is quite reminiscent of 9/11.)

Catherine wrote:

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?

Well, that came up already. I watched television for a couple hours, then I couldn't stand it. So I took a shower and drove away to a nearby park with a ski slope made out of green grass. I hiked the trails through the woods to get to that slope, crossing paths with one family along the way who evidently had the same idea. Somehow, me and that family were on the exact emotional wavelength, and we smiled and said hello in the same emotional tone of pure, sincere friendliness and respect as we passed each other. It was a husband and wife and one or two little kids. I don't know how to explain that moment any better than that; I've never experienced anything like it before or since.

So I made it to the grass ski slope and sat down and considered the vista of blue sky before me. Not a plane in the sky. And as I sat there wondering if mushroom clouds would at some point begin to populate the planeless sky, I was furious that I couldn't somehow be at the fulcrum of polticial decision-making and bring things under control -- or that if I had been involved since the beginning, maybe this would have never happened. I believed in those moments that 9/11 was payback for the first Gulf War (the only Gulf War at the time), and that the racist elites of the United States had it coming to them. And that it was wrong for so many innocent people to have been buried alive in the process. Feeling helpless and utterly marginalized in those moments was enfuriating, so sitting in the park and divorcing myself from the media frenzy seemed like the best thing to do.

I was there for an hour or two. Then caught some radio news as I cruised around for a while. On CBS news, I'll never forget the report of the one female reporter who was running for her life as -- I believe WTC 7 -- collapsed. In her words it was clear that she had believed she was going to die in those moments, and how all she could feel when she collapsed face down on the ground was the fireman who had thrown himself on top of her, like a blanket, to save her -- she remembered the feeling of him being pressed on her so tight she could feel his heart beating through her back and into her chest.

Catherine wrote:

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?

I can honestly say that not a single quote, verse, or song brought me any comfort on that day. The best thing for me was going the opposite way; cutting loose of the world and immersing myself in the quiet of the planet, trying to hear what the Earth itself might have to tell me. No healing in the madness of humans.

Catherine wrote:

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

Oh my God . . . my perspective has changed in that it has become everchanging. I already was a student of Fletcher Prouty and JFK at the time of 9/11, so I knew the background of how the world works. It wasn't until a couple years after . . . that Jim Marrs's book came out -- the first version, not Inside Job, but The War on Freedom (same title as Ahmed's first book). At first blush, I thought assigning an inner plot to 9/11 might be a bit much, but I was intimately familiar with Marrs' work so I began reading. And as soon as I got through the chapter about remote controlled aircraft technology, and how it had been around for years, I knew . . .

Then surfing online one evening, I saw the video showing the squibs ejecting perpendicular to and out of the towers. And upon checking the copy of Newsweek I had saved from that week, the week of 9/11/01, one of the stills of the collapsing towers in that issue also revealed squibs -- something that could not have been doctored after-the-fact as it was rushed into print. Every replay on every station from every angle I saw after that also had squibs.

That was when I really knew that things in the United States and the world were much worse than I ever could have imagined. Around that time was when I first started listening to Black Op Radio, and now I'm on all these forums two years later, writing show notes for Black Op Radio, administering a forum of my own, living a troubled, everchanging perspective through the journey of life.

Catherine wrote:

6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

My attitude. I would give my life in a second if I thought the blowback from my political execution would somehow destroy the Secret Team forever.

dori, thank you for sharing your memories. It's interesting that you and I, who did not know each other existed then, had the same thoughts about the Bush administration.

Absolutely awesome, GR...thank you for sharing that. I hope EVERYONE will post their memories here, and we can make this thread go to beyond 10 pages.

I started a family scrapbook with these questions. It's entitled "A New Day of Infamy." I have an interview I did with my Dad inside that scrapbook. He answered those same questions and now that interview is priceless.

He died August 23, 2005.

Catherine

_________________

"Behind every great fortune lies a great crime."Honore de Balzac

"Democrats work to help people who need help. That other party, they work for people who don't need help. That's all there is to it."~Harry S. Truman

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

I was home watching television

2. What were your first thoughts?
This is what Bush wanted

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?
My wife called me from work

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?
Actually no thoughts. I said a prayer for those that died. I wondered how many of the cops and firefighters died also.

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?
I think all the proud to be an American is false. I think the President has let the country down. I think our servicemen and woman are dying for a country that could care less about us. I think that we are fighting a war that cannot be won.
6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

You know that is a hard question. The actual towers falling meant nothing to me. There were made of concrete and stone. The lives lost was terrible, but, the lives that are being lost everyday is just as bad. I knew someone who was in the towers when they fell and I miss them, but, I feel empty with no anger. My anger is towards our government because I think there is much more that we do not know. I think our government or I should say this administration is hiding many things from us and only history will judge what those things were.

I hate false and empty Americans that are following this administration and believing everything they say.

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

I was in a 7th grade classroom.

2. What were your first thoughts?

I felt strange and I really don't remember what I thought. I just knew something wasn't right.

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?

A fellow teacher came around to all classrooms and told us not to turn on the televisions because we had been hit by terrorists and we didn't want to upset the kids.

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?

none

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

I have always been the eternal optimist. I can no longer say that. I don't live in la la land anymore. A few months prior to 9/11 my husband of 28 years left me. He found someone younger and felt as though he had missed out on life and was seeking his happiness. I was going through so much with lack of trust and losing my best friend and then 9/11 happened. Being a skeptic was new to me. I knew there was more to 9/11 than what we were being told. I now mistrust my government more than I ever thought would be possible. I mistrust fellow Americans. It hurts to be this way. I am so sad I can not be the person I used to be.

6. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

Total mistrust of others. People want to run around pretending to be so patriotic and religious while they stab other fellow Americans in the back and hating those who are not Americans. It has left a hole in my heart.

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

I was at a sports book in Las Vegas and I asked why all the baseball games had been canceled.

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

It makes me realize that people from other countries might be justified in seeing Americans as bullies and that, in spite of all her goodness, the United States has much to atone for.

6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?[/quote]

It has woken me up and made me feel responsible for seeing the truth for myself. It makes me feel that there's a place for me. I'm naturally emotionally expressionless and analytical, which is not a very popular personality, but learning about September 11 has given me a perception of a great schism between those thoughtless, sentimental people who religiously believe what they've been told and me. It reassures me of the value of accurate thinking, even if most people object to it and even if I can never change anyone's mind. I'm amazed at how even people whom I've regarded as intelligent act as if this wasn't a very important issue and respond to me as if I was crazy, even while knowing that they have no evidence for what they believe. It reassures me of the evil of such a religious approach to life. This is my first post in this forum. I seek the comradeship of open-minded, objective thinkers.

I remember all of that. I dont like to remember that point because I was a FOOL and a TOOL because I believed all the shit I was fed. I was angry and full of hate, until I.....unlike all rightwingers started to ask questions amd found some truth. Its amazing what you can find out when you try, instead of making apologies for you leaders.

_________________"All men are created equal until you become a liberal" - Rush Limbaugh

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

At home on the left coast. I turned on the TV to watch the weather channel to see how the weather was, as per usual. "Ho hum another boring day- HEY what the hell is that? A smoking building?" It was just before the second building was hit and I saw the second plane strike.

2. What were your first thoughts?

Hmmm, this is certainly going to change things.

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?

I woke the Missus and informed her that it wasn't just another beautiful day in paradise.

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?

The idea of music or culture weren't on my mind at that moment. I immediately started to think that this was a statement by the oppressed of the world against the symbol of monetary wealth and power that is their burden to carry. The first thing we did was send an E-mail to the president to ask him to refrain from retaliation and let cooler heads prevail. But of course, we know now what happened since and why.

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

As a North American I can state that this event has helped me to understand this deep belief I have had that all is not as it appears to be in our part of the world. Our assumed privileges and rights are just that- a veil that blinds us to the realities of what most of the people of the earth must tolerate in their daily quest for existence.

6. It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most obvious effect of this event on your life?

It has changed the very way that society is patterned for me. At one time I believed that we were all equal but knew that some were more equal than others. I accepted that and moved from one day to the next, with only my personal concerns being important. Since 911 I have awoke the humanitarian in myself and see the bigger picture. No longer will I be one of the sheeple who hide behind the lies, stories and crimes against justice that man performs on his fellow man. I will always believe in the global village and that we are all brothers and sisters here. This world should have never developed an "Us and THEM" attitude, as events like 911 have pointed out. We are not an isolated entity, we are a community of unique humans who have wrongly decided that some of us deserve to be better than others and so when someone rises up and slaps our cheek, we have to show that we will not listen only act through power and violence in return. We have to accuse them of it, sell it and begin to show how divided and conquering we can become, so we can lie cheat and steal their lives and resources from them.

This is the misery we transfer to our fellow man and when he rises up to protest, we give it to him 1,000 time over.

Ah yes, civilized colonists is what we are. Now I imagine what our fate will be someday. This is what 911 did for me. It woke me up from my sleep.

_________________Completely sane world
madness the only freedom

An ability to see both sides of a question
one of the marks of a mature mind

OK I have a question. Today has been five years since it happened. Is it wrong for me to feel no emotion at all! I feel nothing, except that the Pentagon is always playing second fiddle to the towers. Those that lost people in the WTC received I think about 4 million dollars and some wanted more.

The WTC movie was made about two fire fighters and one kept pushing for more and more money. The city is fighting about what the new ones are going to look like, how much space is going to be used for remembrance etc. Tower 7 has almost been proven that is was a controlled destruction. More and more info is coming out that the towers themselves might have been imploded.

All the media hype, the truths, half truths, the so called new found patriotism all of it to me is bullshit. It has caused me to just not feel anything at all. I have not watched one news report today nor listen to anything on the radio that was remotely talking about the day.

1. Where were you on September 11, 2001 when you first heard of the terrorist attack on the WTC?

I was homeless at the time, living in a homeless shelter in San Francisco. A fellow resident
ran in, yelling for me to come to the TV room, and that a airliner had just hit one of the
Twin Towers. I came in just in time to see the second Tower struck and I realised that this
was no accident.

2. What were your first thoughts?

As I watched the second tower struck, the thought occurred to me; “Where is Bush in all of this?

3. Who was with you, or who was the first person you shared the news with?

I first shared news of the attacks with a fellow homeless person I knew when I left the
Shelter for the day.

4. What thought, poem, verse, or song brought you comfort in the immediate moments after the attacks?

At the time I was very devoted to St. John of San Francisco and I asked for his intercession and then prayed to know the truth of things.

5. How has your perspective as an American changed since September 11?

Since September 11, after the prisoner abuse scandals of Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, I am often ashamed to be an American...especially since I believe that Islamist terrorists had little, if anything, to do with the attacks.

6 It's been five years since the attacks. What has been the most
on your life?
I have learnt not to trust either our government or our media, I wasn’t all that trusting
before 9/11, but now I do not trust either group at all.